Samir Geagea

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Samir Geagea (uniformed man in the foreground)

Samir Geagea (also Samir Ja'ja ' ; Arabic سمير جعجع, DMG Samīr Ǧaʿǧaʿ ; * 25. October 1952 in Beirut , Lebanon ) is the chairman of the right-wing party Lebanese Forces (FL) and the only political leader in the country, for crimes committed during the Lebanese civil war was brought to justice.

Life

Geagea was born in the Ain el-Remmaneh district of Beirut to Maronite parents from the city of Bescharri in the mountains of northern Lebanon. He was sentenced to multiple life imprisonment in 1994 for crimes committed during the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990, but benefited from an amnesty law passed by the Lebanese National Assembly on July 18, 2005.

Civil war period

While Geagea was studying medicine at the American University of Beirut , he became a member of the right-wing Kata'ib , whose militia (also known as the Phalange ) was the most important of the Christian militias when the civil war broke out in 1975. He went through the ranks and carried out various desperate operations at the request of Bashir Gemayel, the then kata'ib leader. Gemayel managed to place himself at the head of the Lebanese Christians by force. In 1978 Geagea led a command of the Forces Libanaises in the mountain region of Ehden, which carried out an assassination attempt on Tony Frangieh , the son of the former President Suleiman Frangieh , and his entire family. During this action he was injured and his hand became partially unusable. Geagea became the leader of the northern front of the Forces Libanaises in the early 1980s, with about 1,500 battle- hardened militants, mainly from Besarri and a few other towns and cities in northern Lebanon. Geagea led his men in fierce battles against the Syrian army during the siege of Zahlé from 1980 to 1981. In 1983 he headed the defense of the Chouf district in central Lebanon, which ended in defeat against an overwhelming force of various militias, in particular those of the later ally Walid Jumblat and who were supported by the Syrian military.

In 1984 Geagea and Elie Hobeika carried out an internal military coup to end Fouad Abu Nader's leadership in the Forces Libanaises. Fouad Abu Nader was accused of pursuing policies that were too similar to those of President Amine Gemayel (who was Nader's uncle). Gemayel's policy was not accepted by most of the FL leaders. In 1986, Geagea became head of the Forces Libanaises after Hobeika was accused of treason against Lebanese Christians after agreeing to a Syria-backed agreement (the tripartite agreement ). Geagea transformed the LF into an organized force that was funded and supported by Saddam Hussein . In 1989 he endorsed the Taif Agreement , the aim of which was to end the Lebanese civil war. Although the agreement was aimed at an end to the civil war, it lacked a clear date for a Syrian troop withdrawal. Syria remained as a regulatory power in Lebanon. Geagea controlled most of the state-owned facilities, including the port of Beirut , where he raised money for his militia through imports and exports. He also collected taxes in the Christian regions.

Geagea initially agreed with the government of Prime Minister Michel Aoun and helped him in its efforts to liberate Lebanon from foreign forces in accordance with UN Resolution 520 when Aoun declared the "war of liberation" on March 14, 1989 against Syria. However, he later began to question Aoun's motivations for such a destructive and hopeless war against the much larger Syrian army and its leftist allies. When Aoun began to take active steps to establish government authority over the militias, Geagea resisted. This resulted in a military conflict between the Lebanese army and the Forces Lebanaises that lasted from January 31 to October 13, 1990.

Post-war period

Aoun surrendered on October 13, 1990 after the Syrian army evicted him from the presidential palace in Baabda . This date is considered to be the end of the civil war. Subsequently, he was repeatedly offered ministries in the new Lebanese government, but he turned it down because of his opposition to the Syrian disturbances in Lebanon's internal affairs. In 1994 a bomb exploded in Sayyidet Al Najet church, killing several believers. Geagea was suspected and arrested on charges of attempting to undermine the government's authority by " running a militia in the guise of a political party," planning acts of violence and carrying out assassinations during the civil war. He was accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Raschid Karami , Dany Chamoun and his family, and Elias Al Zayeck. He was also charged with attempting to kill Minister Michel Murr . Before his arrest, he was warned by various politicians friend of the impending developments and offered a safe exit from Lebanon. Geagea refused to leave the country and was subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment on a number of offenses. LF members were tortured during interrogation, and at least one LF member died during questioning. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, complained about the conditions under which he was detained. He was locked in a small cell three floors underground at the Lebanese Ministry of Defense and his contact with the outside world was strictly limited.

Despite widespread appeals from prominent politicians and clergymen for his release, all Lebanese pro-Syrian governments from 1994 to 2005 refused to grant Geagea a pardon. Geagea is said to have turned down a presidential pardon offer that would limit his ability to participate in politics.

Speaking to a delegation from the Lebanese Parliament's Human Rights Committee that visited him in November 2004, Geagea said, "I would prefer to stay in prison for another 20 years than sell my faith for freedom." Calls for his release intensified after the Cedar Revolution and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005. Several public figures alleged that Geagea's arrest, trial and detention by Syrian-backed politicians in response to his opposition to his movement against the Syrian presence was staged in Lebanon.

The Lebanese parliament passed an amnesty law on July 18, 2005 to release Samir Geagea. However, he remains legally responsible for the attack on Raschid Karami. Only Hezbollah MPs abstained from voting. Geagea's party, the Forces Lebanaises, celebrated all over Lebanon.

Geagea was released on July 26, 2005, and his supporters celebrated euphorically on the streets. He then left Lebanon for medical examinations. He returned on October 25, 2005, his birthday, and now lives in the cedar region of northern Lebanon.

See also

Web links

Videos

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dossier: Samir Geagea ( Memento of February 7, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), Middle East Intelligence Bulletin , May 31, 2004.
  2. ↑ Amnesty International : Samir Gea'gea 'and Jirjis al-Khouri: Torture and unfair trial , November 23, 2004
  3. ↑ BBC News: Lebanese ex-warlord is released , July 26, 2005
personal data
SURNAME Geagea, Samir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lebanese militia leader and politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Beirut , Lebanon